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Free Fire Max has ascended to a cultural phenomenon over the past few years with the game claiming the number one spot in terms of peak esports viewership globally, ahead of League of Legends, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and CS:GO. In India, it is dominating viewership on homegrown streaming platform Loco and the Indian esports community.
Currently, there are over 641,0000 followers of Free Fire Max on Loco, putting it ahead of most titles on the platform. Free Fire Max was released in 2021 as a more graphically stunning version of Free Fire, and it has maintained its popularity since its launch among Indian and international audiences. But what is it that makes the game so popular?
Looking at The Mobile Battle Royale Space in India
Currently, Free Fire Max has two big competitors in the mobile battle royale space. The first is Apex Legends Mobile, which was released earlier this year and has become quite popular in the country. The game has 1.31 Million views on Loco which also includes views for the PC and console versions of the game. In comparison, Free Fire Max has over 60.4 Million views, making it significantly more popular than other titles that are currently available.
Call of Duty: Mobile is the other popular title and we have a budding esports ecosystem in India featuring some of the best teams in mobile esports. But, its battle royale mode does not share the same level of popularity as its standard competitive modes. There is Warzone Mobile that is set to launch later this year and it could serve as a solid competitor.
India is a Prime Mobile Esports Market
Mobile gaming is accessible in India thanks to the low data rates as well as entry-level smartphones being more powerful than ever before. Anyone can hop onto mobile gaming and get a great experience out of popular titles without needing to spend a large chunk of money like you would with a console or PC setup.
Free Fire Max is very popular among the Indian content creation community as well, and fans seem to love watching the game. Content creators like Pooja “Pooja Gaming” Khatri, GamingWorld_Verified, and Psycho_Verified have become fan-favorite streamers within the Free Fire Max India community. All three creators have garnered over 1 Million followers each.’
A number of events are streamed on Loco including Total Gaming’s Creator Clash, and LIDOMA ASIA CUP. Content creators on platforms like Loco often play with their followers, host giveaways, and have community events in custom lobbies which helps build a more dedicated fanbase for the game.
The Battle Royale Trend is Here to Stay
A lot of critics do not like the gameplay loop of battle royale games. It is understandable why competing for the same objective every single game can feel “repetitive.” But almost all the players in the battle royale space have stood the test of time. Be it Fortnite in the multi-platform gaming space or Free Fire Max in mobile gaming, fans continue to love the genre and it simply does not get old.
Even though you compete against countless teams every game for the same objective, there is a lot of variance in the genre that keeps the gameplay fresh. To top things off, Free Fire Max has tons of new content that is added to the game frequently and players are always excited to catch up on what the game has to offer whether it’s in-game or in their favorite streams.
